Rohit Jain

Brilliant start indeed! “Geet” Avatars from the iconic Jab We Met sold out completely. Marks a new beginning to our Web 3 initiatives in terms of real Monetisation of our digital IP, making India and the world Khush in the process #IndiaKhushHua Strong partnership with The Sandbox /BharatBox .. delivering a transformational inititaive. Keep tuned in for more exciting announcements going forward. #Shemaroo #Web3 #Metaverse Hiren Gada Anuja Trivedi

42

3 Comments

Thrilled to announce India’s First Mythological OTT platform, 'Hari Om'. "Since the beginning, we've specialized in genre-specific OTT content, pioneering an innovative approach in the entertainment industry. We create targeted content that caters to specific interests, ensuring our audience remains engaged without deviation. Introducing Hari Om, India's first dedicated mythological platform, promising an epic journey through India's rich mythological heritage, exclusively showcasing religious content." In a pioneering move, this app breaks through the clutter, offering a comprehensive repository of Indian mythology and traditional content—a concept never explored before. With an increasing global interest amongst younger audiences, Hari Om emerges as the much-needed bridge, providing a singular platform to delve into the rich tapestry of Indian culture, and spirituality. This platform will be launched in June 2024 with an incredible line-up of more than 20 epic mythological shows, featuring a stellar cast and crew. This unique one-of-a-kind OTT platform will feature long format and short format ‘U’ rated series, created for senior citizens, children and young adults. The OTT platform will also offer bhajans in both video and audio formats. For the first time ever, children will be able to experience curated animated content on mythology. This is the only OTT platform to exclusively host 'U' rated content, making it suitable for people across all age groups. “As Indians, it is essential for us to know our roots, culture, tradition, and heritage to develop a sense of pride and respect for it. This app is one of its kind by any OTT platform in the world to feature only mythological and religious content which can be consumed by the entire family together. Hari Om is designed for family audiences worldwide, with the belief that it will be embraced by viewers and serve as a source of enlightenment to various nationalities across the world." ‘Hari Om’ is poised to become a one-stop destination for mythological content enthusiasts, promising a blend of entertainment, education, and cultural knowledge. https://lnkd.in/dvVJmdRn

601

136 Comments

@ National Broadcasting Bill Should be Enact &: All the Content On Cable tv / Hits / DTH / Free Dish / IPTV / OTT / mobile TV / Broadband Should be Regulated. "MIB" Should control OTT Platform's Content and" MeitY" Should Take Care Of Social Media and User-Generated Content.Then only Level Playing Field will Exist in Indian Broadcasting Industry

2

OTT Self Regulation is not Correct : Bring *OTT Regulation* and *OTT Censorship in india @ The issue is always how bad is bad...if you allow all this Profanity and Half to Almost Full Nudity, what will stop them from going from this to Horrible things...all in the Name of Creativity...Yes OTT has its Advantage, Huge Content Library which can be Accessed Anytime on a Device of Your choice. But OTT has taken off big time bcoz of Nudity and Profanities Allowed to run Sans any control

1

While the Indian Media & Entertainment Industry, valued at approximately ₹2.3 trillion (INR), is currently abuzz with the new JV media company between Reliance Industries Ltd., Viacom18, and The Walt Disney Company — JioStar — and its impressive valuation of around ₹70,350 crores (INR), an important aspect to note is how the new entity has structured its Entertainment Leadership Team. The team will oversee OTT, TV, and Studios businesses under a unified leadership structure, working seamlessly across platforms. This clearly validates the fact that India is a unique "AND" Media Market globally, where all the verticals (Linear TV, Streaming, and Theatrical) have their own space and value, allowing them to thrive and grow sustainably. A team structure across platforms will undoubtedly bring synergies and operational efficiencies to the overall entertainment business, positioning it for growth in the future. Exciting times to be a part of the industry at this pivotal moment and to witness how the entire ecosystem grows, making India an even bigger Media & Entertainment market in the world. #IndiaMediaandEntertainmentIndustry #GrowthStory

25

2 Comments

The Great Consolidation: A Turning Point for the Indian Media and Entertainment Industry In recent years, the Indian media and entertainment landscape has seen unprecedented consolidation, reshaping the industry's dynamics. High-profile acquisitions, such as PVR's purchase of INOX and Reliance's acquisition of Viacom18, Disney Star, Network18, and TV18, signal a pivotal shift. Rumors of Reliance acquiring Dharma Productions or Saregama further underscore these changes. The Impact of Consolidation 📉 Reduction in Market Players: The number of independent production houses is shrinking, leading to a monopolistic environment. For example, Reliance's consolidation of Viacom18 has created a powerful content library, significantly influencing audience access. 🎬 Content Production Lull: The frequency of new films has declined sharply. In 2023, only 80 major films were released, a 25% drop from 2022. Projects like Dharma Productions' "Takht" have been indefinitely postponed, highlighting the cautious approach studios are taking. 🤝 Bargaining Power Shift: Consolidation has diminished the negotiating power of independent production houses. Traditionally strong players are finding it harder to secure favorable terms with broadcasters and OTT platforms, as fewer buyers now dominate the market. 💰 Reevaluation of Big-Budget Productions: Major stars are reassessing projects due to ballooning budgets and uncertain returns. High-profile films, including "Ramayana" and "Mahabharat," have faced delays or shelving, illustrating the industry's cautious stance. 📺 Impact on OTT: As traditional media consolidates, OTT platforms are also feeling the effects. With giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime increasingly reliant on major content providers, the diversity of offerings may be at risk, leading to homogenized storytelling. The Future Landscape The future of the Indian media and entertainment industry hangs in the balance. Will consolidation lead to higher quality content, or will it stifle creativity? Adapting to this evolving landscape will be essential for industry professionals. In conclusion, while current consolidation presents challenges, it also offers opportunities to rethink content creation and distribution. The industry’s revival hinges on collaboration, innovation, and a focus on quality. As we move forward, the question remains: will this mark the beginning of a new chapter or the closing of a once-vibrant book in Indian cinema?

10

1 Comment

JioCinema, India’s leading digital entertainment platform, has announced the appointment of Ishan Chatterjee as its Chief Business Officer (CBO)... Read More At:- https://lnkd.in/gEAaj_XW JioCinema Ishan Chatterjee #digital #entertainment #CBO #jiocinema #news #newsupdate #newsfeed #dailynews #ibwnews

1

Media has to follow BCCI’s lead and stop ignoring women’s cricket. Compared to the full press pack that accompanied Rohit Sharma and team to the USA and the Caribbean, hardly anyone seems to have turned up to watch Harmanpreet Kaur and her squad. When will the excuses stop? The Women’s T20 World Cup is upon us. India will start their campaign against New Zealand tomorrow and go into the competition as one of the favourites. When Rohit Sharma led the Indian men’s team to the USA and the Caribbean in June, the number of media who accompanied them was huge. We all remember how many media people came back on the special charter flight from Barbados thanks to Jay Shah and the BCCI. The question is, how many of our media colleagues will be in Dubai and Sharjah for the women’s World Cup? If the captains meet was an index, the number of Indian media present was minuscule. How we cover this event is clearly an index of how we see the women’s game, and if we have moved to embracing it with equal passion and verve. For the longest time, the BCCI was criticised for not doing enough for the women’s game. Now, it has launched the Women’s Premier League (WPL), given the team enough and more facilities, and left few stones unturned. But has the media done enough? The many sports platforms who were all there in the US and Caribbean have conveniently stayed away. Some will cite budget issues, while others will say the shows would not get enough eyeballs. Both are lies. Just like many tried to make up for not covering the Paralympics by interviewing athletes after they returned to India – to show how much they ostensibly support para sport – many will sit in their armchairs and start giving expert opinions on the women’s World Cup. This is where we in the media go wrong. We continue to discriminate even if we don’t want to. Our actions are contrary to what we say, and that’s where we fail to serve the sport well. That’s where we at RevSportz are committed to making a difference. We had sent two of our reporters – Debasis Sen and Ishaan Shahane – to the USA and the Caribbean. We have sent two of our reporters, Bharath Ramaraj and Snehashish Mukherjee, to Dubai and Sharjah. It is a World Cup, and the most important tournament our women have played in a while. A win could transform the sport forever, and be the 1983 moment for the women’s game. To not cover it on ground would be a huge failure. It is indicative of what we stand for. That we love spectacles and not sport. The men’s game is a spectacle, while the women’s game still isn’t seen as such, and that’s why we stay away citing budgets. For the men’s World Cup, the total number of scribes was more than 50. In Dubai, it is not even 10 at the moment. It is no longer the BCCI that is failing the women’s game. Rather, the BCCI is doing enough and more. It is the media that is not doing justice to the sport. The faster we come to terms with this reality, the better.

92

5 Comments

Always believed that Indian languages/dialects are the greatest assets for our M&E industry. In recent days, movie market has been little dull except few blockbusters but television is going strong on regional channels. Streaming market is now getting consolidated. As I mentioned before, regional/niche streaming platforms can sustain & successful if they could avoid direct competition with giants on various levels like content expenditure. Rising content costs are making platforms difficult to stay profitable. If regional platforms can stay within their content budgets & provide engaging content, they could survive. Most of the viewers now are exposed to all sorts of content across all platforms in all forms. They have so many options at any point of time. But the point is they keep comparing the content from various platforms and finally approve on some creator/platform to make it regular watch. To achieve such viewership, the content on the regional language platforms must be way engaging than the big ones. The regional/niche platforms may not be having solid infrastructure including tech, marketing muscle along with production value. Therefore only way to establish is to connect with the audience with relevant engaging content in their own language. Language culture is different than just the language. Using language with respective culture portraying present time stories is important. Human recommendation is more powerful than recommendation engine. Most of the times, recommendations comes from close circle audience, friends and families. This forms the community for the respective platform. Regional/niche platforms must nurture such communities and localize their activities to penetrate deeper into their target audience. Another point would like to make about long term sustenance is, There is no point in 100 platforms jumping in the same language. There would be very little chances to have success. There is a limited room for each language/dialect considering the audience volume. The audience cannot absorb so many platforms. Social media is omni-present. Regional platforms must build entire eco-system of content creation (Producers, Directors, Writers, Actors, Technicians etc.) on the local level that would supply steady flow of quality content in respective language/dialect without spending exorbitant amount. Finding the right talent and training them with right technique is a mammoth task but worth once you prepare teams called 'Units', not just individuals. The term 'Jugaad' is not new to the world now. Even some of the best directors across the globe apply their brains & minds to restrain the budgets and create the spectacular. India has a rich heritage of so many languages, cultures and literature. All we need is 'Innovation', a vision to look at the content with fresh perspective. #content #regional #India #Indian #languages #dialects #innovation #vision #creation #TV #movie #streaming #OTTplatform #media #entertainment

14

4 Comments

After Adar Poonawala invested 1000/-+ Cr in Dharma Productions & Dharmatic Entertainments, other prominent production companies are also in que looking for investment to scale up their productions. This includes Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment, Siddharth Roy Kapur's RKF, Vikram Malhotra's Abundantia Entertainment... The list could go on. If we look at these investments from standard funding perspective, the investor would see the product-market fit first, profitability comes at later stage. In the creative field like film-making, film is the product whose profitability cannot be predicted before release. Yes, there are many research & analysis firms that could help you to shape up the project but it has limitations. Every time you produce the film, it will be a totally new product. Therefore for investors, only way to gauge the feasibility is the people behind the project. It may include Writer, Director, Producer, Composer, Singer, DoP, Editor, Production designer, Sound designer, Costume designer, there are so many involved. Another biggest factor is actors or so called Stars. In recent times we have seen star value crashing at the BO many a times. No one can deny that star value eats up substantial part of the budget hence increasing the production cost. Audio-Visual appeal of a movie does not depend entirely on the amount that you have spent. The cinematic experience for which we expect public to come to the theatres is independent of production value. Certainly we assume standards are being fulfilled but after that only thing remains is the quality of story-telling. About reaching to the masses, it may not be possible for quality, economy budget films to release the film in number of theatres so OTT platforms has become integral part of recovery along with broadcast and music rights. Hence platforms must be nimble enough to identify good quality content irrespective of its BO performance. #investment #investor #film #production #media #entertainment #corporate #theatre #boxoffice #movie #storytelling #ott #India #broadcast #music #actor #cast #crew

18

12 Comments

We are delighted to share that our Managing Partner, NILESH TRIBHUVANN , has been featured in a LiveMint article titled ‘“Multiplex, OTT Players Wary of Extra Burden from Karnataka Entertainment Cess.” He commented: "The Karnataka government's 2% cess on cinema and OTT subscriptions could raise costs and impact consumer choices. This move might set a trend for other states under financial pressure." Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d6EbQDQh #LegalInsights #EntertainmentLaw #OTT #RevenueGeneration #WhiteAndBrief #lawfirm #fullservicelawfirm #mumbai #delhi #bangalore

2

Some thoughts on Airtel’s recent announcement regarding wynk shutdown: When we at Gaana had shut down free music streaming [Sep 2022], leaving 50M free users, a lot of questions were asked. Is this the right move? No one else in the industry had chosen this route. We had done our maths. To survive, we had to shut down free music, otherwise we would run out of cash and perish soon. At that time there were 5 players offering free music: Us [Gaana], Spotify, Wynk, JioSaavn and Resso. We shifted to a paid only app, the FIRST to do so in India.  We survived and Gaana is thriving under Mirchi now. Resso shut down its operations a few months ago [Jan 2024] and Wynk just announced to shut down. If we had not shifted to paid only at the right time,  we would not have survived. Providing free music to users never made any business sense because of label commercials. For every free song heard, music streaming companies would lose a lot of money, as they had to pay a hefty amount to labels. From 5 players offering free music we are down to 2. Who is next? JioSaavn? Spotify? Yatish Mehrishi Udit Tyagi Sahil Kapoor Rakesh R Sony vineet jain adarsh nair Hari Nair https://lnkd.in/dm3JwyR2 https://lnkd.in/dbdkBhHG

151

20 Comments

In category defined by solo-viewing, the rise of Connected TV usage and co-viewing of content marks a strategic shift for the SVOD category. Our newly launched syndicated report, The Ormax SVOD Audience Report: 2024 delves into these trends, offering insights into the evolving content preferences and consumption behaviors of Indian SVOD audiences. Ormax Media #OTT #SVOD

6

Marathi language video-streaming platform PLANET MARATHI OTT has raised $5 million in funding from A & MA Capital USA. 💰 This transaction marks one of the largest investments in the regional Indian entertainment sector to date. Planet Marathi OTT, which provides an exclusive platform for Marathi industry talent and stories globally, plans to leverage the investment to strengthen its content library and technological infrastructure. Read more at the link in our comments section 👇 by Abha Warrier | #FundingWithYS #Funding Akshay Bardapurkar

38

1 Comment

The key takeaway for me in this article comes from the following quote by Monika Shergill, vice-president of content, Netflix India - "At the heart and centre of what we do is to back original stories and voices. They are a very important part of our brand and long-term success as a company". This is where the opportunity lies. One must focus on upgrading one's writing craft in terms of intricately structured plot narratives, high-concept marketable, stand-out stories, and layered characters that can sustain multiple seasons. While this craft is getting better each year, we still have a long way to go in terms of scalability. A lot of times, good story ideas are either not crafted well enough or not presented to showcase their full potential. It's clear that we need to challenge ourselves and strive for excellence in our craft, especially when it comes to collaborating within writing teams if we want to sustain the scaling up of good series as an industry and be relevant storytellers in the streaming world. For Mint by Lata Jha

37

3 Comments

₹22,400 Crore ($2.7 Billion) Lost to Piracy in India’s Entertainment Industry 1. Rising Piracy: A Growing Concern for Content Creators 51% of Indian consumers access content through pirated sources, posing a significant challenge to the entertainment industry’s revenue streams. 2. Streaming Dominates Piracy Landscape 63% of pirated content comes from streaming platforms, with mobile apps following closely behind as a major channel for illicit content distribution. 3. Massive GST Revenue Losses Up to INR 43 billion in GST revenues may have been lost due to piracy in India, underscoring the financial impact of unauthorised content consumption on the economy. 4. Post-Pandemic Surge in Subscription Revenue Subscription revenue has surged by 150% since the pandemic, signalling a strong rebound for OTT services, but piracy continues to hinder further growth. 5. Filmed Entertainment Industry Poised for Growth. India’s filmed entertainment sector is projected to reach INR 146 billion by 2026, signalling significant opportunity—but piracy remains a critical hurdle. 6. Pirates Don’t Want Paid Subscriptions 70% of pirated content consumers report no interest in purchasing OTT subscriptions, highlighting a major gap in monetisation strategies for streaming services. 7. Young Demographics Driving Piracy A significant 6% of pirated content users are aged between 19-34 years, suggesting that younger audiences are more likely to engage with unauthorized content. 8. Language Preferences in Pirated Content 40% of pirated content is consumed in Hindi, with 31% opting for English content, reflecting language preferences and potential areas for localisation. 9. Consumer Willingness to Switch to Legal Platforms 64% of pirated content users would prefer accessing content via authorized channels, even with ads, if offered for free—indicating potential for ad-supported business models. 10. Resistance to Paying for Movie Tickets A strong 84% of pirated content consumers report that they have no intention of purchasing movie tickets, pointing to the need for more affordable or flexible viewing options.

5